The Saiyan Tail
by angelstaff
Summary: Vegeta and Bulma live happily with their two children, Bulla and Trunks. But when a mysterious artifact causes crisis in their family, what will they do? Chapter 2 is up, please R&R!
1. Horror Beginning

A/N: A Dragonball Z horror story closely following the plot of "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs. I do not own Dragonball Z and any characters in this story.  
  
Chapter 1 - The Horror Beginning  
  
Vegeta was mad. (Anything new?)  
He clomped home in his large boots, a ruthless scowl on his face. His fists were tightly jammed into his pockets, and his brain churned with vicious and unsatisfying thoughts. In such moods, his family usually learned to avoid him.  
When he arrived home, however, Bulma's cheerful smile brightened him a little. Her blue hair was cut short, barely brushing her cheekbones. She had on a simple orange gown, with matching orange orbs hanging off her ears. The dress was of poor material, and the orbs were cheap and tawdry plastic, but it was enough to give her a good look.  
She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. "How was work?"  
"Awful," Vegeta muttered, sinking into his favorite plush armchair. The fire in the hearth was flickering merrily, casting flighty shadows on Vegeta's handsome face, distorted as it was by anger. "I don't see how we're going to make the payments this year," he added miserably.  
Bulma walked up to the back of his chair, folding her arms on top of it, and gazing down on him with fond sympathy. "We'll find a way," she comforted. "We always have."  
Vegeta grunted, his head dropping into his hands, chin on chest.  
Then the door swung open. His daughter, Bulla, flounced in, followed by her older brother, Trunks, who was looking harrassed. Bulla took after her mother, with the same blue hair and cheerful demeanor. She was very fussy for a poor family, but Vegeta loved her with a passion.  
Trunks took after his father, somewhat, in appearance, except for the white hair. He was sturdy and muscular, which suited him for his job as a blacksmith. He had accompanied his energetic sister on a stroll, and was tired.  
Bulla continued her flounce to Vegeta's side. "Hello Dad!" she cried. Then she noticed his defeated manner. "What's wrong?" she asked anxiously. Her father was not a quitter, and rarely ever complained, most times covering up discomfort or pain with stiff grunting and a gruff silence.  
Trunks kissed his mother, then walked to his father's side. "Dad?"  
"Your father's had an off day, dear," Bulma explained, gazing at him once more in sympathy.  
Bulla skipped over to her mother's side. She rummaged in the pocket of her red dress until she found what she was looking for. She presented it to her mother. It was a plastic pearl necklace, beautiful although cheap.  
"I worked hard for you to get it, Mom," Bulla said. "You deserve it."  
"Why, thank you dear!" Bulma cried. "How much?"  
But Bulla could never reply. At that moment, a frenzied knock came at the door.  
"Who could that be?" Bulma wondered aloud as the knock was repeated, louder, more insistent.  
Putting on the new necklace, Bulma answered the door. As the short, stocky man at the door presented himself, a gust of wind blew into the house suddenly. The wind extinguished the crackling fire with a hiss as the room grew dark.  
Vegeta's head shot out of his hands. It was a bad omen, and sent chills down his spine.  
The man was quivering. He shakily presented himself as "Lord Satan". [1] "I have come with a proposal to you."  
"Come in, come in," Bulma replied warmly.  
"No, I'm afraid not," Lord Satan burbled. He was anxiously twisting his hands and his eyes flicked this way and that. He had a long chin that stuck out awkwardly, and a ring of black, curly hair fringed his head. He had a ragged mustache, and his red robe was tattered and worn. "My proposal to you--I have a rare and seldom seen item. 'Tis amazing. 'Tis--" he fumbled around in his pocket for a while, his hands shaking so badly it took some time for him to get it out.  
At last, he revealed to them a long furry thing in his quivering hands. "'Tis known as the Saiyan Tail. Very mystifying. Very few see it or use it. It grants three wishes of any kind." He proffered it to Bulma, who took it up, awe in her eyes, as she stroked it with reverent fingers.  
Vegeta listened, hooked to Lord Satan's every word.  
"What we could do with such a treasure," Bulma whispered. Trunks leaned over his mother's shoulder to examine it, as did Bulla.  
"What is the price?"  
The man moistened his lips. "It comes with no price in cost to you, no no, no price," he babbled. "But if you are wont to take it, know this-- nothing you know and love is safe from this when it is in your hands." An insane gleam raged in his eyes. "Take it, take it away from my sight!" he said, raising his voice to a shout. "It causes pain and destruction wherever it goes. Beware!"  
He fled, quivering and stumbling, over the snowy slopes of the little tree-ringed forest in which they lived. Bulma pitied the man with a shake of her head, and a murmured blessing. Then, her attention riveted on the Saiyan Tail, she walked over to Vegeta. "What shall we wish for, dear?" she asked in a awed whisper.  
"Nothing," he said this so harshly Bulma stepped back. "This is cursed--you heard it yourself."  
"You never know 'til you try, Dad," Trunks said.  
"He has a point, Dad. What should I wish for?" Bulla asked, examining the tail hungrily.  
Vegeta dropped his head into his hands once more. "Fine," he growled. "But don't blame me if anything goes wrong."  
A silence sprouted up after his words. Vegeta remained huddled in the armchair, not saying a word. Bulla's eyes lit up, and she ignored her father's warning, exclaiming, "I know just what to wish for! Two hundred dollars!"  
Trunks nodded eagerly. "I want to see what happens."  
Bulla closed her eyes, holding the Saiyan Tail. "I wish for two hundred dollars."  
Silence. She opened a tentative eye, expected a rain of green to wash over her, finding nothing. Bulma and Trunks looked about, confused.  
"I told you so," Vegeta admonished. "What a tawdry man."  
Bulla laid tail in front of the hearth with a sigh. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to bed." She and Trunks left the room.  
Bulma put a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "Are you coming, dear?"  
Vegeta gave a sigh. He stood, following his wife out of the room, pausing for brief seconds to glance at the tail, curled before the fire.  
When the room was empty, the tail gave a small twitch, its fur shining oddly. Then it lay as it was, without a trace of any movement during the night.  
  
[1] - Lord Satan is Hercule. 


	2. Wishes

A/N: The second part of this Dragonball Z parody of "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. I don't own DBZ or "The Monkey's Paw".  
  
Chapter 2 - Wishes  
  
Bulma sat before the fire, reading a book. No one was home yet. Bulla should have been back by now, she realized. Her eyes continued to scan over the same line. Her eyes flicked up to the hearth, then back down. Up, then down. Up, then down. She sighed and got up.  
Vegeta was home, at least. She opened the door for him, but there were no smiles for today. They both watched the tail discreetly throughout the evening until a knock on their door disturbed their respite.  
A small, slender girl stood on the doorstep. Bulma recognized her as one of Bulla's friends. "Oh, hello Alice," Bulma greeted her warmly. Then she looked around. "Did you see Bulla? Did she come with you?"  
Alice's shoulders shuddered. "I-I came to tell you something, ma'am." Bulma's sixth sense was tingling. She knew in her bones that something was seriously wrong. "You see--Bulla and I were at the mill, getting ready to go home." Vegeta, shaken out of his stupor, fixed the girl with a rigid, constricted gaze. "She turned to go with me out the door and-and...her hair got caught in the machine." Tears began to drip down the girl's face.  
Vegeta got up swiftly, grasping the girl by the shoulders. "What happened?"  
She looked into his eyes, her own large with hurt. She shuddered again and said, rather bluntly, "Her-her scalp was torn off. Her funeral is being held whenever you consent." Her lips trembled as Bulma gasped. Vegeta made a small noise, shaking his head, his eyes disbelieving. "If it's any comfort to you...the millworkers are giving you a death consolation." Bulma's eyes went wide. She grasped Vegeta for support as the girl took a piece of paper from her pocket.  
"Here's a check. Tw-two hundred dollars."  
  
When Trunks returned, he found a broken household and family. Bulma was numb, Vegeta silent, Bulla absent.  
He entered tentatively. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong? Where's Bulla?"  
At hearing Bulla's name, Bulma burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing as Vegeta put a hand on her shoulder.  
"Bulla-" Bulma gasped, tears streaming down her face, voice muffled. "She died this afternoon!"  
Trunks let the door swing shut numbly. "What happened?"  
"It was that confounded tail!" Vegeta growled suddenly, his gaze shooting up to the Saiyan Tail, which was curled up innocently on the hearth. Bulma's face shot out of her hands.  
"That's it, Vegeta! The tail!" she gasped, lunging for it. Vegeta caught her arm, stopping her for a second.  
"Mom!" Trunks hissed warningly. "That--thing--is what killed Bulla!"  
"What kind of a mother are you?" Vegeta rasped. "Who knows what might go wrong? We don't want her to live in pain for the rest of her life!"  
Their words drifted in Bulma's ears and out again. There was a crazed, hysteric gleam in her eye, and her desire allowed herself to wrench out of Vegeta's hold. She grasped the tail as Vegeta gave a yell and Trunks ran forward.  
He was too late. She grasped the tail in clutching fingers. "I wish my daughter were back, knocking on this very door!"  
The knocking began just as Vegeta reached his wife. She dropped the Saiyan Tail and ran to the door. Trunks intercepted her, hindering her long enough for Vegeta to dive for the hearth. She wrenched out of his grip as Vegeta found his face a scant inch from the hoaring hearth gate.  
He rose and wheeled, the Tail in his hands. Bulma reached out--her fingers brushed the doorknob--  
"I WISH SHE WERE BACK IN THE GRAVE!"  
The knocking stopped abruptly. Bulma froze, the tears running down her face, her hands brushing the doorknob. Trunks stared at her, then at his father, who's gaze was locked on his shocked wife.  
She wrenched the door open, and screamed into the blizzard. "Bulla! Bulla! Bulla, please, please come back!" Then she fell back from the door, sobbing, in Trunks' arms. Vegeta, dropping the Tail, took her up.  
"It was for the best, Bulma. You know that."  
The Saiyan Tail gave another twitch, then, writhing, turned into ash on the floor. And so the story ends, a motionless tableau. So one finds the curse of avarice and the price one pays for greed. 


End file.
